Michael Jordan wowed the NBA as a rookie. His high-flying playing style made him an instant fan favorite. Jordan won the Rookie of the Year award with averages of 28.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and 2.4 steals per game.
Despite these averages and his exciting play, most people thought of Jordan as a good player, but no one could predict he’d turn into the star player that he’d eventually become. This was especially true after Jordan injured himself in the third game of the 1985-86 season.
Jordan broke his foot against the Golden State Warriors, and the Bulls, who looked good to start the season as they were 3-0, were suddenly in trouble. For Jordan, not being able to play the game he loved was a tough pill to swallow.
‘“When I heard it was cracked, that really hurt me,” Jordan said in a 1985 interview. “What do I do from here? Six weeks of nothing? All I could think of was I would lay up, watch TV and do nothing.
“I don’t feel too well. I’ve never gone through anything like this before, and I don’t know how to deal with it. Right now, I can cry all night and wake up tomorrow and find out what it’s all about.’”
Jordan believed he’d miss six weeks because of the injury, but it would turn out to be much worse. The Bulls’ rising star would miss 64 games before forcing his return to the court.
The Bulls’ management wanted MJ to sit out the remainder of the season and come back strong the following season. This didn’t sit well with the young man from North Carolina.
Jordan wanted to play basketball all the time, and once his foot was deemed healed enough to play basketball, that’s what he wanted to do, play basketball. So, Jordan demanded that he be allowed to return and play, and the young star got his way.
For basketball fans and Michael Jordan himself, the decision to let MJ play would lead to the game that would change Jordan’s career and the NBA forever.
Chicago Bulls vs. Boston Celtics
The best team in the NBA during the 1985-86 season was unquestionably the Boston Celtics. The team led by Larry Bird finished the season with a 67-15 record, including a 40–1 record at home.
Larry Bird won his third straight MVP, while Bill Walton won the Sixth Man of the Year Award. The 1985-86 Celtics are considered to be one of the best teams in NBA history.
So, when the playoffs started and the Celtics were matched up against the Bulls, nobody gave Chicago a chance. The Bulls limped into the playoffs with a 30–52 record.
Jordan returned from his injury to play in the Bulls’ final 15 games. Minutes restriction limited Jordan’s productivity, and he certainly didn’t look like he did in his rookie season.
This narrative would completely change when the ball tipped in Game 1. Jordan jumped all over the Celtics, performing quick moves to the basket, proving his foot was completely healed.
At the end of the first half, the Bulls were hanging tough. They trailed 61-59, and Jordan had an incredible first half by scoring 30 points.
Boston would control Jordan a little better in the second half, holding him to 19 second-half points. They controlled the Bulls as a team much better, as they cruised to a 123-104 Game 1 victory.
The Bulls may have lost, but Jordan’s 49 points were impressive. Boston wasn’t used to giving up many points to just one individual, especially in the playoffs.
After Game 1, the Celtics players didn’t believe Jordan would be able to duplicate his 49-point game in Game 2. Celtics guard Jerry Sichting once recalled this feeling in an interview.
“Dennis [Johnson] was a prideful defensive player,” Sichting said. He’s in the shower after that Game 1 when Michael has 49. He’s got the stat sheet stuck to the wall and he’s staring at it. He’s all soaped up, and he says, ‘The good news is we beat them. Michael is never going to have another game like that again.’
“Little did he know,” Sichting said with a laugh, “what was coming.”
Sichting was absolutely right, the Boston Celtics and the basketball world did not know what was coming. Game 2 started, and Jordan began hot, as he was in Game 1.
At the end of the first half, Jordan scored 23 points, seven off his first-half points in Game 1. The difference in this game was the Bulls held the lead at halftime, 58-51.
In the second half of Game 2, Jordan picked up his play and put massive pressure on the Celtics’ defense. Jordan scored at will, and no matter who Boston put on MJ, he did what he wanted.
Despite Jordan’s onslaught, the Celtics stormed back into the game, taking the lead in the fourth quarter. Jordan wasn’t done yet, though, he wasn’t going to bow down to anyone, not even the mighty Boston Celtics.
Jordan continued to make big buckets to keep Chicago in the game. Then, with 45 seconds left, Kevin McHale scored to put the Celtics up 116-113.
The Bulls forward Charles Oakley would be fouled with 34 seconds remaining in the game. Oakley would split the pair of free throws, and Boston would try to hold onto their 116-114 lead.
After Larry Bird missed a jumper, the Bulls would get the ball back and call a timeout with six seconds left in the game. After the timeout, the unthinkable happened for the Celtics.
McHale fouled Jordan on a three-point shot as time expired. Back in 1986, if a player was fouled on a three-point attempt, they were awarded only two free-throws, not three, as they are today.
So, Jordan stepped to the line and calmly nailed both free-throws to tie the game at 116-116 to send the game into overtime. Jordan had 54 points, a then career-high, at the end of regulation.
The game would continue on, not just one overtime, but two overtimes, and in the second overtime, Jordan made history. With 1:12 remaining in the second overtime, Jordan hit a runner over three Celtics players to break Elgin Baylor’s playoff scoring record of 61 with 63 points.
The Celtics would go on to win the game 135-131, but all everyone could talk about after the game was Michael Jordan. Larry Bird even famously said that Jordan was “God disguised as Michael Jordan” and he was the “most awesome player in the NBA.”
Still, Jordan didn’t see his performance the same way as everyone else. He was mad his team lost, and that’s all that mattered to him.
“50 points, 49 points, 63 points, I just want to win again,” Jordan said after the loss. “The points don’t mean anything to me.”
The Bulls would not win a game against the Celtics in the series, as they lost the series with their 122-104 Game 3 loss in Chicago. Jordan finally became human in Game 3, as he was held to 19 points on 8-18 shooting. He did add 10 rebounds and 9 assists.
Despite the “down game” for Jordan in Game 3, his three-game points average (43.67) was a playoff record for the highest points per game in a single playoff run. This record still stands to this day.
But Game 2 was still on everyone’s mind. This was the game that made Jordan into a star and the face of the NBA. And why not? MJ did something incredible against a team that many felt was the greatest the league had ever seen at that time.
On his way to scoring 63 points, Jordan shot 22-41 and 19-21 from the free-throw line. One amazing stat of the game was how Jordan scored the ball.
Only three of Jordan’s 41 shots were uncontested. He also faced Dennis Johnson, who was a nine-time defensive team selection, and Danny Ainge, who was a scrappy defender, as his primary defenders in the game.
Against those two players, Jordan scored 42 of his 63 points. MJ proved the Celtics players wrong, going above and beyond his Game 1 performance while also showing the Bulls’ front office that it was the right decision to have him play.
Jordan would become a star in the league after Game 2, and his career only continued to get better. He’d go on to win six NBA championships, six Finals MVPs, and five MVP awards, just to name a few.
It’s great to go back and see how the legend of Michael Jordan started and how much he’d grow as a player and a leader from that 1986 first-round playoff series against the Boston Celtics. From that day on, everyone truly wanted to “Be Like Mike.”
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